Sweet Biz News

I’m thrilled to announce that after two years of diligent preparation, The Greensted has officially obtained Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification from the USDA! This rigorously inspected verification highlights our microgreens farm’s commitment to responsible, sustainable growing practices and food safety.

Fox 9

Jayne and Dean head into the Fox 9 studios for a fresh salad for Easter made with nutritious microgreens. 

What is the Greensted?

From Driftless:

We’re so glad you stopped in. What is The Greensted? Technically, it means “green place.”  We grow microgreens, salad greens, green peppers, cucumbers all kinds of green things. We use “green” practices – you know, sustainable, regenerative, organic practices. All the buzz things. But make no mistake, our marketing color theme, is navy blue. That’s important.

We started growing green things in 2016. Dean had tried a summer of gardening, and well, that was a disaster. But he learned he loved growing things. Online research lead us to microgreens. What’s a microgreen? Microgreens are vegetable seeds grown for 8 to 14 days, then harvested from the growing medium – in our case an organic soil mix. Harvesting things like broccoli, kale, red cabbage, arugula, kohlrabi, at that true leaf stage, allows for all the nutrition of the seed to be captured in the microgreen, and imparts intense flavor. How do you eat microgreens? On your food – any food. What started as a fun curiosity, has become a thriving microgreen enterprise. Read more of our story, find recipes and ….

Continue reading Click Here



KTTC Story July 12, 2022 story and video

…One of the producers that Doorstep works with is Greensted in Zumbrota, Minnesota.

“I think if we’ve learned anything these last few years is [that] supporting our local businesses and local suppliers is more important than ever,” Jayne Bredlau with Greensted said. “We are all for it. It was an extra source for us and our products.”

See the story Click Here to Continue

 

The Greensted: In the Good News

Perhaps you’ve seen a recent article or two on our business and microgreen products. There has been a great deal of coverage the last several months, for which we are grateful to so many awesome news and agricultural media organizations who have featured our story.

3 years already!

The Greensted is in it’s third year of business. Truly, it’s been quite a crazy-good adventure! Working so many hours on something we care deeply about can sometimes, well, IS quite exhausting. Keeping you, our consumers and clients in mind as we work, day and night, makes it all worth the time and effort!

We want you to know we are not just a “business” but people, who like you, care about eating fresh, healthy food. Greensted Microgreens are the very best in good news available! Locally grown with organic practices, mindfully harvested, packaged and distributed twice weekly, we bring our best to your best meals, snacks and personal health goals.

Amazing Flavor is Chef Approved!

Did you know that microgreens have amazing flavor? Our friends over at RiverTowns checked us out and discovered our amazing product line and noticed the special flavor we create in our product microgreen mixes.

…So how did they know what they were doing was actually good? They enjoyed the produce, but would others? Early on in the growing process, Jayne was working at the Kahler Hotel in Rochester. Jayne decided to ask the head chef if he’d be willing to try the produce and give them honest feedback.

After three months of trying them, the chef finally asked when they would start selling the produce to him on a regular basis.

Read the whole story Click Here!

 

Vicky DeCoster in Cross the Bridge Coaching blog July 10, 2019

Microgreens are our passion

When Dean Bredlau and Jayne Watts first met in 2014, they focused on growing their relationship with each other and God, not plants. It was not until after they married in September 2015 and settled in Zumbrota, Minnesota, that they noticed their conversations frequently turned to farming. The summer of 2016, Dean took a leap of faith and planted a garden in sandy, hard, and weedy soil on a friend’s farm. Despite having little to show for his efforts other than a few less-than-flavorful vegetables, Dean was enthused about doing more.

Soon, Jayne and Dean began researching and watching “dirty” movies on YouTube on composting, organic growing, soil composition, planting and watering methods, seeds, and seed growing. After several months of experimentation growing microgreens indoors, their urban farm-to-table grower business, The Greensted was born. Jayne, who held a variety of roles at a local newspaper and within a large hotel portfolio, had some flower gardening experience.

Continue reading the story Click Here

Zumbrota Daily News-Record June 16, 2019

Jayne and Dean Bredlau

Holly Galbus in the Zumbrota Daily News-Record says:

ZUMBROTA – They’re crunchy, sweet, and spicy little nutrient-packed powerhouses of flavor. And although they have been popular on both the east and west coasts since the 1980s, microgreens have just recently found their way to southeast Minnesota grocery stores, restaurants, and co-ops.
And they are finding favor with Minnesotans’ palates in a pretty
big way.

That’s in no small part due to the efforts of Dean and Jayne
Bredlau of Zumbrota, who in the span of just a few years,
have grown their business…

You can read more Click Here

KIMT News June 10, 2019 story and video

ZUMBROTA, Minn. – Jayne and Dean Bredlau have been growing The Greensted, a farm to table produce business, since 2016. Recently, they received a legal notice that caught them off guard. An attorney representing a Los Angeles-based chain restaurant Sweetgreen sent them a cease and desist to stop using the name My Sweet Greens MN, their original business name.

Sweetgreen and My Sweet Greens MN came to an agreement and the Bredlaus have until November 2020 to change their name. “It was a surprise for us to receive. We had no idea our very local specific name for a small urban farm was going to infringe on a large restaurant chain’s name,” says Jayne Bredlau.

Everything with their current business name including their logo, packaging, website domain, and accounts must be changed. That process can be pricey. The Bredlaus are hoping to generate extra funds this summer to pay for the change.

My Sweet Greens MN (the original name of The Greensted) is taking the challenge in stride …

See the video and story Click Here

Local FEAST! Vendor Spotlight February 2019

It’s 2019, so, everyone knows about microgreens, right? Super nutritious, grown in soil, older than sprouts and more diverse, and THE gourmet way to garnish just about anything. Agreed?

Dean and Jayne Bredlau started growing the nutrient-rich microgreens in 2016 as a rewarding season extension crop. They quickly discovered the most flavorful blends of seeds, and by 2018 began selling at Farmers Markets. Jayne remembers their first one, in early March, where “we were the only thing ‘green’ that market day.”

Their superfood microgreens are now at four farmers markets May-October, two winter markets, two co-ops, and six HyVee’s, not to mention a handful of restaurants.

Continue reading Click Here

Visit Northfield Riverwalk Market Fair June 22, 2018

Jayne and Dean Bredlau

Dean and Jayne Bredlau, owners of The Greensted, are new vendors to the market this year in 2018.  This is their second year growing and selling microgreens.  They offer many different microgreen varieties such as sunflower, sweet peas, zesty mix, radish, and a few other “mixes” with different greens mixed together. 

Read more Click Here

Just Food Co+op Hotdish Podcast June 5, 2019

Welcome to Hotdish, the Just Food Co-op Podcast.

Meet Jayne and Dean, founders and farmers of The Greensted. Hear about their production practices and all of the delicious ways you can use greens to enhance your hotdish – or any meal. 

Listen in on this fun conversation Click Here

AP News February 15, 2019

ZUMBROTA, Minn. — Entrepreneurs Jayne and Dean Bredlau have dealt with many problems while trying to make their fresh produce business bloom, but a recent trademark claim from a restaurant chain blindsided them.

Lawyers for Los Angeles-based Sweetgreen, a chain of more than 90 healthy eateries, sent a cease and desist letter to the Bredlaus, telling them they must stop using the name My Sweet Greens MN (the original name of The Greensted) for their small fresh vegetable business.

“It couldn’t have come at a worse time,” said Jayne Bredlau, who left her regular job in August to work on The Greensted full-time. “It’s pretty overwhelming.”

Other than having “sweet” and “green” in their names, the two businesses are not similar.

Continue reading Click Here

Power 96 Classic Rock radio February 2019

ZUMBROTA COMPANY BEING SUED BY BIG LA COMPANY W/ SIMILAR NAME

CARLY ROSS February 6, 2019

The Greensted is a small local business that was opened by Jayne and Dean Bredlau in 2016. They’re based out of Zumbrota and distribute greens they grow in their greenhouse to Rochester, Northfield, Winona, and Fairbault areas. They’ve picked up a bit of traction this past year. They sold their greens at farmer’s markets, food co-ops, and selling directly to restaurants. Unfortunately, they have a problem right now.

A big Los Angeles based restaurant chain, Sweetgreen, is now suing My Sweet Greens (the original name of The Greensted) because the name is too similar. The closest Sweetgreen restaurant can be found in Chicago. Sweetgreen sells salads made out of fresh produce.

Sweetgreen’s attorney Colette Ghazarian wrote to My Sweet Green, saying “’Sweetgreen is concerned consumers will erroneously conclude that your business and its offerings are associated with, or sponsored or endorsed by, Sweetgreen.’”

Sweetgreen has the money to fight this lawsuit for a while where My Sweet Greens doesn’t.

Business brief Click Here

Rochester Women Magazine May/June 2019

Grown in Zumbrota
By Jorrie Johnson

Just three months after Dean and Jayne Bredlau met in 2014, Jayne was in a serious accident and fractured her tibia and fibula. During her recovery, the couple spent time conversing about life, challenges and their faith in God. In September 2015, they married and began their life together in Zumbrota. Combining Dean’s passion for farming and Jayne’s interest in marketing, The Greensted was born in 2016 out of a dream to get back to what’s real and meaningful.    

GROWING THE BUSINESS
During 2017, Dean started growing trials with seeds from Johnny’s Seeds and retail flats and soil. They experimented with flats, seeding…

Read the article Click Here

The Flannel Gardner growing blogger June 10, 2019

My Second Purchase

I made my second purchase after I recognized a familiar face at the market. This past winter my wife and I attended the Cannon River SFA meeting. At that meeting we met Dean and Jayne Bredlau. They are the owners/growers for The Greensted . They grow microgreens in Zumbrota, MN. What are microgreens? A delicious super food is my definition for microgreens. Check out their site to get more detailed information about microgreens. Make sure to read this recent Rochester Women Magazine article to learn more about Dean & Jayne’s story. Great people growing great food!

There were a few different microgreen mixes to choose from. I purchased the Zesty Mix of microgreens. Zesty is a great name for this mix as these microgreens pack some punch. It is a mix of Arugula, mustard greens and collards. This took care of my 1 leafy green item on my list.

Read entire blog post Click Here

Agri News June 19, 2019

ZUMBROTA, Minn. — When a small local businesses goes up against a large national corporation, the odds aren’t generally in the little guy’s favor.

Unfortunately, that’s how a recent trademark/name tussle played out for a Zumbrota couple and their growing microgreens business.

Entrepreneurs Dean and Jayne Bredlau own the young The Greensted operation, which sells sweet peas, arugula, radish and other greens in the region as well as some vegetables and rhubarb.

This year was looking to be a big one for the small business. Then they were blindsided with a cease and desist letter over a trademark claim  …

See more Click Here

Post Bulletin June 10, 2019

Heard on the Street: Microgreens producer is growing, despite name fight

ZUMBROTA — When a small local businesses goes up against a large national corporation, the odds aren’t generally in the little guy’s favor.

Unfortunately, that’s how a recent trademark/name tussle played out for a Zumbrota couple and their growing microgreens business.

Eco entrepreneurs Dean and Jayne Bredlau own the young The Greensted  operation, which sells sweet peas, arugula, radish and other greens in the region as well as some vegetables and rhubarb.

See it all Click Here

Cannon Valley Grown – Member Spotlight November 2018

The Greensted
Jayne and Dean Bredlau launched their Zumbrota business, My Sweet Greens MN, in 2016, and haven’t stopped moving ahead since. On a mission to “put microgreens on every table”, 2017 saw them participating in the Radish Magazine “Healthy Living Fair” in August, and FEAST! in Rochester in December. In 2018, they’ve expanded production and had a presence at four farmers’ markets: Riverwalk in Northfield; the Zumbrota market; the Rochester Wednesday market; and the new Uptown Minneapolis market.

Read more Click Here

Urban farm specializing in year-round growing of Microgreens, seasonal salad greens and garden produce. Our core microgreen products are Sweet Pea Shoots, Sunflower Shoots, Radish, Arugula and our unique blends, Classy Classic and Zesty Mix. We also offer basil as a microgreen by request. 

See member profile Click Here

Minnesota Grown press release

Farm-to-table urban farm specializing in Microgreens: Sweet Pea Shoots, Sunflower Shoots, Radish and our custom blends, Classy Classic and Zesty Mix. Products available year-round at area summer and winter farmers markets, co-ops, retail stores and implemented into menus at coffee shops and fine dining restaurants. Contact us for more information and order online today!

Entire press release Click Here

HyVee Demo and Sample … maybe you missed this one.

Keep your eyes open for special events like this one coming up!
Click Here

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